Do Cell Phones Pose A Threat To Our Health?
SLCC Globe
Journalist: Demontray Lockhart
October 21, 2005
Cell phones are supposedly causing health problems. Many people are saying that their mobile phone caused their brain tumor.
"From
day one, I was worried about contracting brain cancer because of
earlier reports," said Gibb Brower, a landscaper from San Diego, to
Network World. "Anything that can remotely give you a chance of cancer,
I stay away from. But I was assured by the people I got the phone from
that it was safe,"
Brower has filed a lawsuit against Motorola
and Sony, stating his cell phones have caused two tumors on the right
side of his brain.
About half of all Americans use cell phones.
Forty-one percent of Americans are between the ages of 18 to 29 with 67
percent of them using cell phones every day.
In order to understand wireless phones and their risk of causing cancer, a person has to understand how they are created.
Wireless
telephones are hand-held phones with built-in antennas, like a two-way
radio. They pick up the caller's voice and translate the sound to radio
frequency energy. The radio waves travel through the air until they
reach a receiver at a nearby base station. The base station then sends
the call through the telephone network until it reaches the person
being called.
When a person receives a call, the message travels
through the telephone network until it reaches a base station close to
the appropriate wireless phone. Then the base station sends out radio
waves that are detected by a receiver in the cellular phone, where the
signals are changed back into the sound of a voice.
"Cell phones
emit radio frequency radiation, and the evidence establishes to
satisfaction that it puts you at risk of harm when you use the phone,"
said Michael Allweiss, a New Orleans attorney, to Network World.
The number of health cases involving cell phones has increased.
Chris Newman, a neurologist, blames his brain tumor on his usage of cell phones. Newman has filed a lawsuit against several industry giants, including Motorola and Cell One.